Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, Big Black was an American Alternative/punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Big Black's aggressive and abrasive music was characterized by distinctively clanky guitars and the use of a drum machine rather than a drum kit, elements that foreshadowed industrial rock. The band's lyrics flouted commonly held taboos and dealt frankly— and often explicitly— with politically and culturally loaded topics including murder, rape, child sexual abuse, arson, racism, and misogyny. They were staunchly critical of the commercial nature of rock, shunning the mainstream music industry and insisting on complete control over all aspects of their career. At the height of their success, they booked their own tours, paid for their own recordings, refused to sign contracts, and eschewed many of the traditional corporate trappings of rock bands. In doing so they had a significant impact on the aesthetic and political development of independent and underground rock music.

How does it feel to be a black man in America? It hurts, but in a beautiful way. So Shawn Taylor says—and a lot more—in this unapologetic and sharply critical exploration of the hatred and anxiety that American society harbors toward black men, and the fear and confusion that black men harbor toward themselves.